A van for Wilder
Donation protected
I am wanting to help my brother-in-law and sister buy their next daily family vehicle to get to and from school, doctor's appointments, and therapies. This is a single- income military family. My nephew, Wilder, is a four-year-old wheelchair user. Before he was born, Wilder had a stroke that left empty spaces in his brain, a condition called porencephaly. He is non verbal but still laughs when we dance and cries when we leave the room. He lights up the room with his smile. When he received his first electric wheelchair a few months ago, his parents were disappointed to find that it wouldn't fit inside their current van. There are very few pictures of Wilder in his wheelchair because he is unable to leave the house with it. The power wheelchair is necessary since he does not have the physical ability to move a manual chair, but it does require a lot of room in the vehicle. Their van is nice and works well but was already not meeting their needs. Wilder's older sister lives with autism and needs her own personal space. He, himself, needs a decent amount of equipment to travel with, and of course, there are the two little sisters that still need a place to sit in the vehicle. Wilder is also going to need a wheelchair lift. My brother-in-law's active duty military service helps provide amazing health care services for both wilder and his sisters, but this is going to be a large purchase for them that won't be covered by insurance. The difference between a luxury van and a handicapped-accessible passenger van is going to be at least $25,000. They are expecting the conversion alone to cost around $10,000. They spend a lot of time on the road and my sister often sits with kids in the car when Wilder or his older sister has therapy appointments. Often, one of the kids will have back to back therapies, leaving my sister and the kids in the vehicle for long periods of time while they wait. With two kids with special needs, the family has several appointments a week. Since they spend so much time in their car, I really want to help them get something that suits all their needs. My sister and brother-in-law will begin looking at their options for a new vehicle this week. If you are able to help me, together, we can give them some pretty great options.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristen Fordham
Organizer
Grasonville, MD
Lauren Van Heusden
Beneficiary